Powerball hits $1 billion for tonight’s drawing, the biggest US lottery jackpot of the year
A billboard displays the estimated Powerball jackpot in Philadelphia on Tuesday
(CNN) — The Powerball jackpot has climbed to an estimated $1 billion after no ticket won the grand prize Monday night, marking the first billion-dollar Powerball jackpot since a player in Arkansas took home $1.8 billion on Christmas Eve last year.
Wednesday night’s drawing will be the 44th consecutive drawing in the current jackpot run, and the prize ranks as the eighth-largest in Powerball history, according to the Multi-State Lottery Association, which administers the game.
The winning numbers from Monday night’s drawing were 6, 37, 54, 55 and 64, and a red Powerball 10, with a Power Play multiplier of 3.
If a player hits the jackpot Wednesday, they can choose between an annuitized prize estimated at $1 billion, paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or a lump sum payment estimated at $433.1 million. Both figures are before taxes. Some states, including Florida, Texas and Tennessee, do not tax lottery winnings, and most Powerball and other major lottery winners choose the lump sum over annuity payments.
Although no one won the $905 million jackpot Monday, some ticket holders still won sizable prizes, according to Powerball. One ticket sold in Tennessee matched all five white balls and included the Power Play option to win $2 million. Two other tickets, sold in California and Maryland, matched the five white numbers to win the $1 million Match 5 prize. In California, the payout can vary based on ticket sales and the number of winners.
The odds of winning a Powerball jackpot are approximately 1 in 292.2 million. For perspective, a person has a better chance of being struck by lightning in a given year — a 1 in 1.22 million chance, according to the National Weather Service. The odds of being killed by a shark over a lifetime are roughly 1 in 4.3 million, according to the International Shark Attack File.
No one has won the grand prize in more than three months, since two players in Florida and Texas split a $20 million prize on May 2.
The size of this jackpot is no anomaly. Powerball and Mega Millions jackpots have grown larger over the past several years, driven by game redesigns that lengthened the odds of winning, more frequent drawings and an expanded player pool.
Three winners in Florida, California and Tennessee became the first to claim a jackpot over $1 billion when they split a $1.586 billion Powerball prize in 2016.
The largest Powerball prize on record — $2.04 billion — was won in California in 2022. Last year’s $1.8 billion Arkansas jackpot ranks second.
Powerball tickets are sold in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom. Drawings are held every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET.
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